North Star Holiday Resort at Hastings Point was recently named NSW’s Best Caravan and Best Holiday Park at the 2022 NSW Tourism Awards held in Sydney.
North Star is a private, family-owned business which has operated on the beautiful Tweed Coast for the past 42 years.
Proud owner Diana Beadel said she was thrilled with the news. She, along with the North Star team, now look forward to the Australian Tourism Awards in Sydney in March 2023.
“It’s a great achievement for a park in the far north of the State of NSW to win an Award of this significance.
“This raises the profile of the entire area and helps put Hastings Point on the map. It will be a real honour to represent the State at the Australian Tourism Awards next year,” says Diana.
Diana credits the Award to her team of staff. Many of whom are been with North Star for over 10 years.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be winning awards of this calibre,” she said. “Our team has remained tight and steadfast over the past few years. Despite the enormous challenges we have had to deal with.
“We endured travel restrictions and border closures, with 65% of our business coming from QLD pre-COVID.
“This was topped off by the major flood events earlier this year. These heavily impacted staff and guests who could not travel due to dangerous conditions.
“Yet, we’re still here, going strong and we’ve emerged at the end of it all with a major Award.
“It’s an opportunity to celebrate our team for their determination, resilience, passion, and commitment to North Star.
“We are excited to embrace a brighter future for our industry,” said Diana.
Marine Discovery Centre at North Star
North Star CEO, Susan Flaherty says the face of the caravan and holiday park industry has evolved dramatically over the past decade. These days, park visitors demand better facilities and a wider range of accommodation than ever before.
“They’re not just looking for campsites or somewhere to park the van. They expect all the facilities and activities they would find at a large holiday resort or hotel,” Susan said.
Susan said she believes North Star’s Marine Discovery Centre, which recently underwent a massive one-million-dollar transformation, has raised the bar for caravan and holiday parks right across Australia.
“Our one-of-a-kind Centre is an educational and research facility, focused on protecting our precious aquatic environment for future generations.”
“It’s a showcase of state-of-the-art light and sound technology, interactive digital terminals and world-class marine and coastal science displays designed to enhance the learning experience.”
“There are also purpose-built spaces for lectures, seminars, business events, gatherings, school camps and excursions,” said Susan.
Globally recognised in eco-tourism
Susan said North Star’s is also firmly committed to sustainability and maintaining their status as one of only eight holiday parks out of 2,700 in Australia and one of the only two-holiday parks in NSW that holds the globally recognised Eco-Tourism Australia certification.
“We are continually seeking new ways to educate guests on the impacts of climate change and how they can play a role,” said Susan.
Over 20 years ago, North Star became the first 5-star rated holiday park in New South Wales. Which is still considered a rare achievement in the caravanning industry. North Star is the only 5-star caravan park in NSW. And one of only two caravan parks in Australia to hold this rating in the nationally accredited Star Ratings program.
Widely acclaimed as one of Australia’s top family holiday destinations, North Star has a massive water park and 8.2m high waterslides, onsite licensed restaurant and bar, convenience store, conference and event spaces and fully supervised kids’ club.
The newly refurbished Seascape Leisure Centre is where adults can enjoy a massage, hairdressing and beauty treatments and use the lap pool, infrared sauna, gym and spas.
The popular holiday park welcomes 100,000 visitors to the Tweed and Northern Rivers region each year. There is an extensive range of accommodation available. From campsites and caravan spots to holiday cabins and spacious family villas in addition to 199 long-term sites. North Star proudly employs 84 local people in various capacities.
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